When I decided to open a shop on Etsy, what I did not realize was that I would also become a student again. As I began taking the initial steps of starting my business, I quickly realized that there was so much I needed to learn about everything from the legalities of running a business to pricing, production schedules, and sourcing vendors. This book and the Etsy seller handbook quickly became my go-to resources and since then I've become a sponge trying to soak up as much information as I can about becoming an entrepreneur.

One thing that I have found to be hugely helpful is reading the success stories of other small business owners. Now that the shop is open, I wanted to start documenting my own experience and all of the little bits of knowledge that I've acquired along the way, including my trials and tribulations. If anything, this is meant to be a reflective process for me, but I hope that it will be useful to others looking to start their own creative business. Since I always knew that I wanted to start a paper goods company, I'll skip the step of deciding what it was that I was going to sell and start by talking about the first big decision I made, which was coming up with a name.

Fortunately, this came relatively easy for me. I initially wanted to use something that had personal meaning to me. I toyed with Florence, my grandmother's name, and Greenview, the street I grew up on. I liked that Greenview conveyed a sense of naturalness and wholesomeness, which were two emotions that I wanted to represent through my brand, and therefore, it became the forerunner. As I played around with it more in my head, I soon realized that I wanted a name that did not just evoke a sense of nostalgia for me, but for others as well. From here, Greenview evolved into Evergreen, which then became Evermore.

I thought that Evermore was both imaginative and timeless and best of all, it was abstract enough for people to create their own interpretation. For me it is a place filled of everlasting memories and infinite love and beauty. For others it might be an idea, a feeling or an emotion. It's really what you want to make of it and that's how it became the name that stuck.

Throughout this process, I constantly ran google searches and typed potential URLs into my browser to confirm that the names I was thinking of were not already taken. I'll admit, it was a bit disheartening each time I thought I had the final name only to find that it was already in use. However, once Evermore Paper Co. was decided on, I made sure to purchase the domain evermorepaperco.com right away. I used NameCheap and it cost a grand total of $11/year. In fact, it was my very first business expense. In addition, I also locked in my Etsy shop name, EvermorePaperCo, and Twitter handle, @EvermorePaper. This all took place in April, about 4 months before I opened shop, and it was one of those defining moments that helped set things in motion for the months ahead.

Hello! I'm Ashley and the maker behind the Chicago-based paper goods brand, Evermore Paper Co. This is where I share my latest inspiration and sneak peeks, as well as snippets of life and my other creative pursuits.